Freeland won't hold NAFTA talks

Category : Canada NewsUpdated On : September 14, 2018 04:58 AM

By Indian Times Daily

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Wednesday said officials needed to do more work before she could hold fresh talks with the United States on renewing NAFTA as time runs out to reach a deal.

A well-placed source had earlier told Reuters that Freeland planned to return to Washington for more talks on Thursday with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, adding that plenty of work remained.

But Freeland, who briefed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the negotiations twice in a matter of hours on Wednesday, said she had agreed during a phone conversation with Lighthizer that she would stay in Canada.

“We decided that in order to have another productive conversation, it would be best to give our officials some time to hold technical discussions,” she told reporters late in the day, but gave no details.